Now that fall has arrived and students are firmly settled into the routine of campus life, there is only one thing left to do: build a large wooden tower on the Green, set it ablaze, and begin running in circles around the conflagration.
Despite the apparent familiarity and constancy of Homecoming festivities over the years, the towering bonfire being only one such part, elements of the current Homecoming celebration might seem markedly unfamiliar to Dartmouth students of the past.
Although records from as far back as the 1700s chronicle tales of drunken revelry and practical jokes -- some of which involved animals both living and dead being placed in classrooms or on buildings' roofs -- that would not seem out of place today, early College celebrations had a far less festive atmosphere.
Before Dartmouth Night officially came into being, Commencement took center stage as the foremost event at Dartmouth, including the appearance of booths set up around the Green for entertainment and refreshment.
With the advent of President William Jewett Tucker's administration came the "new Dartmouth" initiative. Tucker felt that Commencement only appealed to a limited part of the student body, as it focused largely on seniors, and sought to create an event that would unite freshmen with other undergraduates and the alumni community.
On Sept. 27, 1895, Tucker inaugurated the first Dartmouth Night in the "Old Chapel," then in Dartmouth Hall. In his words, "The purpose of Dartmouth Night is to perpetuate the Dartmouth spirit and to capitalize the history of the College."
While the night's program included a bonfire, it was far from the spectacle it is today. Instead, speeches by Tucker and other prominent members of the Dartmouth community constituted the bulk of the proceedings, to mixed reviews from the student body.
Over time, the program came to include performances by student musical and theater groups, as well as the singing of the alma mater and other college songs by students and alumni.
Dartmouth Night in its early years was often used as a platform for other college celebrations. 1901's Night was given the theme of a centennial celebration of Daniel Webster's graduation, with a parade of students decked out in period garb and the laying of Webster Hall's cornerstone.
The 1904 Dartmouth Night saw the much-heralded appearance by Lord Dartmouth, as well as speeches from members of the visiting party and Lord Dartmouth himself. Also in attendance, though less noted by newspapers of the day, was a young British politician -- Col. Winston Churchill.
In 1907, the event was moved from Dartmouth Hall to Webster Hall. In years following, celebrations often expanded beyond the Hall's capacity, spilling out onto the Green.
During the next decade, Dartmouth Night grew from a single event in Hanover into a nationwide affair. Alumni began to hold Dartmouth Night parties in cities across the country in 1911, sending celebratory telegrams to be read in Hanover.
It was also during this period that the program of events started to evolve. With the onset of World War I, Dartmouth Night's traditional parade was cancelled in 1915, not to be resumed for another 58 years.
Football also came to be a central part of the celebration. As bonfires had been constructed to celebrate football victories since 1888, so Dartmouth Night's fire came to be associated with a major football game each season.
This view was further cemented by the dedication of Memorial Field during 1923's festivities. Finally, in 1946, following several years of limited observance due to World War II, the rally for the football game against Columbia was incorporated directly into Dartmouth Night.
The early 1950s saw the administration attempting to return to Dartmouth Night's intellectual and social roots.
In a 1952 statement, President John Sloan Dickey noted: "In recent years, Dartmouth Night here has been limited by its celebration ... before a home football game. This year, the 100th anniversary of Daniel Webster's death presents an excellent opportunity for the College to revive the greater meaning of Dartmouth Night."
Attempts to this end included a reading of President Dwight Eisenhower's address, given in the spring to the graduating Class of 1953, during the Dartmouth Night celebrations of that fall. By the latter half of the decade, a balance had been struck between oratory and celebration in the proceedings.
Dartmouth Night diversions met mixed success in the 1960s, by which time they were generally viewed as a Dartmouth homecoming in all but name. While the Nights' speeches and songs were first broadcast by radio and syndicated in cities with Dartmouth Night parties at the start of the decade, actual observance became more sporadic than in years past.
In 1963, plagued by fire concerns due to recent drought, the traditional bonfire and fireworks were called off by a state ban. With rising sentiment against the Vietnam War and poor turnout, Dartmouth Night was canceled in 1969. The event was reinstated in 1973, along with the revival of the traditional Dartmouth Night parade.
Dartmouth Night 1980 included a celebration of the football team's 100th anniversary, and in 1988, the weekend ritual was officially christened with the name it retains today: Homecoming.
Homecoming in recent years has been defined primarily by safety concerns on the part of officials and the College administration.
Concerns in 1983 and 1991 stemmed from threats that explosives were planted in the bonfire, though subsequent searches by security revealed the scares to be false.
Official oversight of bonfire construction was also stepped up, following fights in the mid-1990s during the building process and the 1999 bonfire collapse at Texas A&M, which killed 12 students.
This year's Homecoming weekend will likely be plagued by continued controversy over developments that have occurred over the last few years, which include the perimeter imposed to distance students from the bonfire and the prohibition of students rushing the field.
The Dartmouth-Columbia game will include the arrangement of members of the freshman class into numerals indicating class year, reviving a tradition originating in the 1940s that has not been practiced since 1989.
